Outside
Evaluation: College Procedures
Normally,
the tenured and senior members of a department should evaluate
the research and scholarship of a candidate for tenure and/or
promotion. If the tenured and senior members of a department
determine that outside evaluations are necessary, the department
Chair should seek approval from the Dean to solicit outside
reviews. Once approval is received, the department Chair will
inform the candidate of that decision, provide the department's
rationale for so doing, and describe to the candidate the
College procedures for soliciting outside reviews. The decision
to seek outside evaluations should be made well in advance
of the department's final evaluation of the candidate.
If outside
evaluators are to be used, the Chair will request from the
faculty member a list of professionals (no fewer than three,
no more than six) whom the candidate recommends as qualified
reviewers. The candidate should provide the Chair with a brief
description of the potential reviewer's credentials as well
as a statement clarifying the nature of any prior contact
the candidate has had with any suggested reviewer.
Under
the direction of the Chair, the department will compile a
list of three to six additional qualified reviewers. This
list will be shown to the candidate, who may request the removal
of any name(s) from that list. Should a department and a candidate
disagree about the inclusion of a name on the list of potentialreviewers,
the Dean will make the final decision.
The department
will choose a final slate of reviewers from both lists. That
final list will contain no fewer than two or more than eight
names, half of which will have been drawn from each list.
The faculty member under review will not be told the names
of those reviewers on the final list. All letters solicited
by this procedure will be considered confidential and will
not be seen by the candidate.
The Chair
will send each reviewer a copy of the candidate's vita along
with those materials the faculty member and department have
agreed should be reviewed. The Chair's cover letter, a copy
of which shall be placed in both the candidate's departmental
and Dean's files, will outline the College procedures for
outside review. (See the sample letter below. It may be modified
to suit the individual case, but its essential points concerning
the character of Holy Cross as a liberal arts college and
the consequent nature of our evaluation process should be
maintained. Ordinarily, stipends will not be extended for
evaluation services.)
All outside
letters will be addressed to the Dean of the College, who
will make them available to the departments and to the Committee
on Tenure and Promotion. All letters solicited must be placed
in both the departmental and College Faculty Files.
Please
Note: The procedures outlined here apply to those unusual
situations in which the tenured and senior members of a department
receive approval to initiate a process of outside evaluation.
Whether or not an outside review is called for, however, the
faculty member being evaluated retains the right to solicit
letters of recommendation for his or her Faculty File from
colleagues inside or outside Holy Cross. All such solicited
letters will be kept confidential.
Sample
Letter for Soliciting Outside Reviews
Dr. John/Jane
Doe has been a member of our faculty since September 19xx.
During the 19xx-19xx academic year a decision will be reached
as to whether he/she should be awarded tenure and promoted
to the rank of Associate Professor. In the tenure review process,
candidates are evaluated with respect to their performance
in three areas: teaching, research, and service. You have
been suggested to me as someone who could serve as one of
the outside reviewers in our evaluation of Dr. Doe's research.
I would very much appreciate it if you were willing to serve
in that capacity.
At Holy
Cross, all faculty are expected to maintain an active, productive
research program. The evaluation of a candidate's research
is therefore an important part of the tenure review. On a
faculty of xx (specialists), however, there is less overlap
in research specialization among faculty members than in a
large university or research institute. The comments of outside
reviewers are therefore essential for our appraisal of a candidate's
contribution to current work in a specialized field.
It should
be noted that teaching is a major part of faculty responsibility
at Holy Cross. Our faculty on the average have nine contact
hours per week in courses every semester. Service on departmental
and College committees and active participation in a program
of academic advising are also expected.
Expectations
for research productivity should therefore be placed in the
context of a liberal arts college with a strong research orientation
rather than that of a major university where teaching duties
are typically lighter. We would particularly value your perspective
on the quality of Dr. Doe's research. Having your view of
his/her research productivity would also be helpful because
levels of effort and time required for demonstrable achievement
may differ significantly among fields.
Copies
of Dr. Doe's curriculum vitae and publications are enclosed.
Your comments on Dr. Doe's research contributions with respect
to quality, significance, and productivity will be made available
only to the Senior
Faculty of the XX department and to the College Committee
on Tenure and Promotion, both of which regard such information
as confidential. I would hope to receive your comments by
September xx, so that they can be incorporated into our evaluation
process. In the event that you are unable to serve as a reviewer
in this process, please let me know right away, so that I
may seek an alternative reviewer.
I very
much appreciate your contribution of time and effort on our
behalf, and I look forward to hearing from you.
